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On the eve of his team’s must-win match against New Zealand, Shahid Afridi feels Pakistan are playing good cricket but are being held back by small mistakes

Sidharth Monga in Mohali21-Mar-20162:48

Chappell: Afridi must inspire by performance

Pakistan cricket team at a world event. Chaos. Defeat. Politics. Criticism. Over-reaction. The PCB chairman saying don’t expect much of this team. That the captain’s future is “evident”, that the coach’s contract ends in June, and that a reconsideration is imminent. In the meantime, on the field, Pakistan need to win every match. We have been here before. This is about time Pakistan magically become an irresistible force, right? A magic wand. Possessed Pakistanis. Cornered tigers. Great individual performances come out of somewhere. Bull manure, says Shahid Afridi. You just need good cricket here, he has said on the eve of their match against New Zealand, losing which will rule them out.”If you create a panic situation,” Afridi said, “everything becomes difficult to sort out. The straightforward plan has to be to stick to basics. You can’t rely on miracles. It doesn’t work that way. We need to cut down on our mistakes. If you keep repeating mistakes, it becomes difficult. It’s not like we are making huge mistakes, just small mistakes here and there. We are batting well, bowling well, but cricket matches are won by sides that make fewer mistakes.”Perhaps it has always been like this. Perhaps this is what changes when Pakistan get on their irresistible unstoppable roll. Just make fewer mistakes. It is not all that glamorous, but perhaps that’s how it starts. It’s just the fact that it has to come from a situation so dire that makes it so dramatic. All kinds of things have happened since Pakistan lost to India. A former cricketer has said Imran Khan, who was present in Kolkata, deliberately misguided this team into playing four quicks. Some other former cricketer has slammed Afridi’s move to bat at No. 3. Shaharyar Khan reportedly seems to have made up his mind on Afridi’s future at least.Afridi knows now only he and his team-mates can help each other. “Even before the tournament began, people began saying things,” Afridi said. “But I am keeping myself away from Twitter, Facebook, nor am I following any other media. I have distanced myself from everything. Whatever is happening there, let it happen. All I know is, I am here, my team is here. Whatever happens, what people are saying back home, we will see about that later. Now it is time to perform, and only that is in our hands.”As difficult as it is to be a Pakistan cricket fan, it must be just as hard to be a Pakistan cricketer, given the reaction every time they lose to India. Afridi just laughed off the fickle reactions. “Only those who love you get angry at you,” he said. “What we need to do is perform, and not make too much of their reaction because they love us in equal measure.”It is quite mature coming from a man not known for mature batting on most occasions. It is incredibly sane coming from a man who has survived Pakistan cricket for two decades. It is coming from a man who has seen it all. Afridi was asked to talk about how Younis Khan was pilloried at the start of World T20 2009 before Pakistan turned it around. “This cricket has made not just Younis Khan but many others cry,” Afridi said. “I have seen a lot of cricketers in tears. I have seen them leave because they can’t take it anymore. I am thankful to God that I have played for Pakistan for this long.”Except that there might not be much time left. There are two matches left. If Pakistan stop making those mistakes, it could become three. If they could make even fewer mistakes, it could become four. Who knows if those at the PCB asking for Afridi’s removal might join his friends and family and ask him to stay? Whatever happens it won’t happen through miracles. It will happen through mundane things such as fewer misfields at the boundary, through batsmen looking for the singles when the boundaries are hard to come. Afridi has played long enough to know that.

Continuing its arguments over the Lodha Committee report, the BCCI said that because of its status as a trust it was beyond the purview of the Supreme Court. The court responded by asking the BCCI whether it was “refusing to be reformed”

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Apr-2016Continuing arguments over the Lodha Committee report on Friday, the BCCI said that because of its status as a trust it was beyond the purview of the Supreme Court. The court responded by asking the BCCI whether it was “refusing to be reformed” and adjourned the matter to MondayA three-man panel led by Justice RM Lodha had recommended several changes to the BCCI’s functioning, but the board has been reluctant to implement some of them. The BCCI’s senior counsel, KK Venugopal, told the bench, comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice Ibrahim Kalifulla, that the board was registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act and also reportedly cited Article 19 (C) of the Constitution of India, which allows for the formation of associations or unions, as one of the reasons the court could not interfere in the BCCI’s functioning.”This is a private body and can arrange its matters in whatever way it wants,” Venugopal told the court, according to the .Regarding the suggestion of “one state, one vote” and the recent critique against how the BCCI disbursed its funds to the state associations, Venugopal said, “Memberships are part of internal management. In case of complaints, approach the Registrar, Co-operative Societies or the police station or the court. There has been no instance of malfeasance to trigger interference which will change the very character and functioning of the Board.”During his submission, Venugopal also cited the Zee Telefilms judgement of 2005. In response to a writ petition by Zee Telefilms against the BCCI over the cancellation of telecast rights, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had ruled that the Indian cricket board was not a “state” as defined by Article 12 of the Constitution, and no fundamental rights can be invoked against it. At the time, however, the court had also ruled that the BCCI was a private body carrying out a public function and, therefore, could be taken to court for violation of a statutory court. According to this judgement, Venugopal said on Friday, the Supreme court could only examine the BCCI’s public function, which does not include its character or composition.Chief Justice Thakur had a pointed question for Venugopal: “Every single penny you hold in trust is for the benefit of the game and for those who play and for the millions of cricket lovers who pay you to watch the game… Are you not accountable to them? Are you refusing to be reformed?”Chief Justice Thakur had more rhetorical questions for the BCCI counsel. “[From] what we understand is that you are suggesting that I am answerable to Registrar of Societies. I will be accountable only to Registrar of the Society. I will be amenable to criminal law but I will not reform. Don’t ask me to reform. Is it possible? What have you done? We have seen the allegations of match-fixing and betting. You have no control over these. But you give money in crores. The Lodha committee has said something. It has been said to make the functioning more transparent and visible and the effort is to reform the BCCI.”The bench asked Venugopal, “When you collect thousands of crores of rupees, are you saying that we cannot question you as to how you spend the same?” The BCCI counsel nodded. “With respect, yes.”Venugopal said that broadcasting revenue accrued from selling media rights was the main source of income for the BCCI. He then argued that the court cannot say how the BCCI must run its business, but it can definitely look into allegations of malfeasance and misconduct. The court asked the BCCI: “The money that you have is in your trust. Are you not accountable to the beneficiaries? It is for the benefit of the people who watch matches. Are you not accountable to them?””We are accountable to the statutory bodies, the regulatory bodies like the Registrar of Societies or the Criminal Law,” Venugopal said. He told the bench that the BCCI was carrying out reform in a stage-by-stage basis.

Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada have joined captain AB de Villiers in expressing reservations about playing a day-night Test because of concerns over the pink ball

Firdose Moonda19-May-2016Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada have joined captain AB de Villiers in expressing reservations about playing a day-night Test because of concerns over the pink ball. Cricket South Africa rejected Cricket Australia’s offer of a day-night Test later this year because the South African players did not want to have a match of high stakes played in unfamiliar conditions. Philander and Rabada admitted they want more opportunities for practice matches and domestic day-night games before going into a pink-ball Test.”If you are going there, you need to have experimented on the domestic front. We haven’t done that so it would be a total blind eye going into it. I would like to have experimented before you actually go and do it,” Philander said at a sponsor announcement on Wednesday.When asked how many games he thought teams would need to get used to the pink ball, Philander was unsure but he did not think one practice game, which was what Australia offered South Africa on their visit later this year, would be enough.”You have to try and test the pink ball properly,” Philander said. “We are all professional players and I think sometimes people think we are quick to adapt to everything. As far as the pink ball is concerned, you are going to need a few games to get used to it.”Like de Villiers, both Philander and Rabada cited the uneven contest between bat and ball as the key reason for their hesitation to play a day-night Test. “There are a lot of rumours of the ball being okay during the day and then at night being a bit difficult for batters,” Philander said. Rabada echoed those thoughts: “From what I hear, it’s not a fair contest between bat and ball and that should be Test cricket.”But Rabada also took a view similar to Dale Steyn, and said that he would like to play a day-night Test at some point in his career. “I haven’t given it much thought but I wouldn’t mind playing in it. I’ve heard good things and I’ve heard bad things,” Rabada said. “Perhaps they need to look into it more and perhaps make it a bit more fair. The positive is that it brings crowds in. They need to find a way to balance the two, so that it’s good for cricket and good for publicising the sport. You need to find a way to come to a fair conclusion where both parties are happy.”Steyn had told that he did not want to go through his “whole career without playing a day-night game” and wanted to test his skills with something different. He later clarified on Twitter that although he wanted to play a pink-ball Test in future, he did not want it to be the Adelaide match on South Africa’s tour to Australia later this year.

England opener Jason Roy scored his third T20 hundred as Surrey proved too strong for previously unbeaten Sussex at Hove.

ECB Reporters Network03-Jun-2016
ScorecardJason Roy was at his dominating best with a fine century•Getty Images

England opener Jason Roy scored his third T20 hundred as Surrey proved too strong for previously unbeaten Sussex at Hove.Roy made 109 from 67 balls to underpin a commanding total of 205 for 4 after Surrey had batted first.Surrey’s overseas pair Kumar Sangakkara and Dwayne Bravo gave Roy excellent support and Sussex were always struggling after losing two wickets in the first two overs.Ross Taylor made 51 but the Sharks finished short on 182 for 5 and lost by 23 runs.This was Roy’s night, though, as he mixed authentic shots with eye-catching improvisation which left the Sussex bowlers struggling to find a way of containing him.He hit 16 fours all around the wicket and a six off the South African David Wiese before holing out to deep midwicket in the final over.Surrey lost Steven Davies in the fourth over but the experienced Sangakkara was the perfect foil for Roy. He took a particular liking to Wiese, hitting him for two fours and a six off successive balls in the 11th over which cost 17 runs.Sangakkara reached his 50 in the 15th over and celebrated with two ramp shots for four off Ajmal Shahzad before falling lbw trying to repeat the stroke off the next ball.That brought Bravo, on his Surrey debut, to the wicket and he wasted little time in finding his range. The pick of his shots was an effortless inside-out drive off Tymal Mills over the extra-cover boundary for six before a comical moment in the same over his bat flew 30 yards out of his hands as he tried to clear midwicket.It was a chastening night for Mills, who had been so impressive in Wednesday’s win over Somerset as his four overs went for 55. England’s Chris Jordan did pick up Roy and Bravo off successive balls in the final over to finish with 2 for 35.Sussex’s chase never got sufficient momentum. Chris Nash, who had scored his maiden T20 hundred 48 hours earlier, toe-ended his third ball to mid-on to give Sam Curran a wicket on his 18th birthday and Ben Brown upper-cut to third man off Tom Curran in the next over.Their most experienced batsmen, Luke Wright and Taylor, revived Sussex hopes by putting on 88 in 10.3 overs before Zafar Ansari struck two decisive blows in the 13th over. An unusually subdued Wright holed out to deep midwicket and Taylor, whose 51 from 36 balls included three sixes, was smartly stumped down the leg side by Gary Wilson.That left Sussex needing an improbable 99 off seven overs and although Jordan made 30 off 23 balls it was Surrey’s – and Roy’s – night.

Michael Klinger led from the front as Gloucestershire completed a NatWest T20 Blast double over arch-rivals Somerset with a seven-wicket victory at Taunton

ECB Reporters Network01-Jul-2016
ScorecardMichael Klinger’s century powered Gloucestershire to victory•Getty Images

Michael Klinger led from the front as Gloucestershire completed a NatWest T20 Blast double over arch-rivals Somerset with a seven-wicket victory at Taunton.The skipper scored a brilliant 101 as his side made light of a victory target of 168, winning with four balls to spare to go top of the South Group. Ian Cockbain contributed 41 to a second-wicket stand of 107.The hosts posted a disappointing 167 for 7 on the high-scoring ground, Mahela Jayawardene making a scratchy 41 and Peter Trego 32. Matt Taylor returned a career-best 3 for 16 and Tom Smith 2 for 28.That was never likely to be sufficient if Klinger got going and the ultra-consistent Australian duly obliged with a superb 71-ball innings, featuring 10 fours and four sixes. Jamie Overton was the pick of the home attack with 3 for 33.Somerset struggled to gain any momentum after being invited to bat. Jim Allenby fell early to a miscued pull off Taylor and at the end of the six-over powerplay the scoreboard read 40 for 2.Johann Myburgh produced the odd sweet shot in his 25 before falling to Howell, who was typically miserly in claiming 1 for 23 from his four overs of wily medium pace.Trego looked in good touch hitting five boundaries, but after he launched a catch to long-off to give left-arm spinner Smith his first wicket there was no one to clear the ropes in mid-innings.Jayawardene struggled for any semblance of the form that made him among the most elegant batsmen to have played the game and was dropped at extra cover off Smith on 26.By the time he was sixth man out, to the accurate Taylor, in the 18th over Somerset had just 141 runs on the board and were resigned to a below-par score.Jamie Overton’s successive sixes off Andrew Tye boosted the total, but with the sun shining, it didn’t look enough, even when he followed up with a perfect yorker to bowl Hamish Marshall in the fifth over with the score on 40.That was as good as it got for the home side, who had to wait until the last ball of the 17th over for their next wicket as Klinger and Cockbain produced an array of powerful strokes.When Cockbain was caught at long-on by Craig Overton off brother Jamie, having hit three fours and a six in his 39-ball innings, Gloucestershire required only 21.Klinger reached his hundred off 67 balls, having looked in total command. Although he fell in the penultimate over, the job was done against what on the night was a very moderate Somerset side.